ANDERSON, Ind. (AP) -- An Indiana man sentenced to 253 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to 19 counts of child molesting has lost his bid to have his sentence shortened.

The Indiana Court of Appeals this week upheld the sentence issued to 39-year-old William Everage Jr. in July 2012 by a Madison County judge.

The Herald Bulletin reports Appeals Court Judge Cale Bradford wrote the sentence was appropriate because the evidence against Everage was overwhelming. The victims' families said Everage manipulated them so he could get close to their children, 1 of whom is autistic. One woman said she helped Everage molest her own 11-year-old daughter.

Everage told an investigator he started molesting children when he was 17 years old.